Midnight Vigil
by Cassandra West
Summary: There should be a glow. I want there to be a glow. First in a series of three overlapping stories dealing with Jono and Jubilee post MDay.


"Get out. You're not welcome here," Jubilee's icy tone cut across the darkened room as Gayle Edgerton manoeuvred her wheelchair through the door.

Gayle visibly started and reached for the wall switch. Cold blue eyes watched the silhouette in the spill of light from the open door and Jubilee smiled bitterly to herself, giving the hand she was holding a slight squeeze. "You don't listen very well. I said that you're not welcome here. It's better for everyone if you just leave, hence you don't need to turn on the light."

She lowered her eyes back to the bed, taking comfort in the darkness hiding the ravaged body in front of her. Usually she turned the lights on, usually she would talk to him or read to him, trying to give him something to think about beyond the beeps and rumbles from the machines keeping him alive. Sometimes, though, it hurt. Sometimes it was easier to sit in the dark and imagine that there was a tightly shrouded light source in front of her, not a gaping emptiness were it used to be. _There should be a glow. I want there to be a glow. I want to feel you brushing my mind because telepathy is just another sense that allows you to assess what's going on around you as you wake up. I want to see the sleepy confusion in your eyes when you first open them. I don't want you trapped in this shell._ "There's absolutely nothing you could say or do that warrants your being here now, Gayle." She swore softly as the room lights came up.

Gayle took a deep breath, "You have me at a disadvantage." There was a long pause, the tension mounting between them. "They told me there was no one else in here."

Jubilee heard the squeak of wheels against tile as the other woman crossed the floor toward the bed. Looking only at the still form on the bed, she kissed the hand clasped in both of hers. "Yeah, must be easy to forget people you try to kill. Of course, all you really agreed to was helping a homicidal maniac **eat** Jono; we were all just collateral damage, weren't we? Surprisingly, I remember most of the people who have tried to kill me, and I sincerely hope my number is far greater than yours." She could feel Gayle watching her; feel her trying to fit this information into her personal history. "You must have talked to someone new to the floor. I thought the whole shift knew that I'm here as many hours as I can spare and they'll let me stay. They know to check even when the room is dark. Especially when it's dark, no one else would turn off the lights. Easier on them when they monitor him if the lights are on. I'm told it's less creepy too."

"You… you were at the school with him, weren't you?"

Jubilee snorted. "Brilliant deduction, Lady Edgerton. Were there so many egomaniacal mutant soul vampires that you need to **ask**?"

"Jonothan forgave me for that. In answer to your question, no, there was only Marius St. Croix."

"**Jono** would forgive **anyone** anything they did to him. He feels like he deserves it. His forgiveness doesn't actually indicate something is forgivable. **I** don't forgive you for what you did, to him or to me. Emplate fed off me too, you know. That's why we got away; he blew himself up with my powers when I pissed him off. Your childish desire to make your ex suffer for an **accident** gave me an up close and personal encounter with the number two bastard in all creation. I'll keep my grudge, thanks." A small, pale hand entered her field of vision, reaching to the casket like machine surrounding Jono. Jubilee lashed out, gripping the hand with bone grinding force and finally looking the other woman directly in the eyes. "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM! You make one move to touch him or this equipment again, and I swear to God you get to figure out how to roll yourself out of here with two broken arms." She dropped Gayle's hand abruptly and wiped her own hand on her pants before taking Jono's hand again. "Just get it over with, Gayle. Do whatever you came for so that you can leave us alone. Or so I can kill you to stop you hurting him. Doesn't really matter to me as long as it gets you out of here."

Gayle looked at her coolly. "You still have me at a disadvantage, Miss…" Jubilee turned her gaze down to what remained of Jono's face. "Very well," the aristocrat continued when it was clear Jubilee would not respond. "You know, it won't help to make me leave, anymore than it will help for you to spend every night watching over him. He will never love you. You're always going to be just some girl he went to school with. Always the one he talks to about whoever catches his eye, never the one he wants."

Jubilee flexed her fingers around Jono's hand, desperately missing the ability to shove some sparklers down Gayle's idiotic, self-assured throat. "Do you honestly think I'm in love with him? That I object to you because he used to fuck you **four years ago**?" She brushed Jono's wild hair off his forehead and shook her head. "I love him, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I'm in love with him. I'm here because this is the **only** thing I can do for him. You," she looked the other woman over, "I hate because you treated him like shit when you were together, blamed him for something he couldn't have prevented, and tried to murder him. But I supposed acknowledging that means actually examining your own behaviour. Why do that when you can be happily clueless as long as I'm just jealous? Newsflash, cookie, there is **nothing** about you to be jealous of."

Gayle spoke softly, "I didn't come here to hurt him. I wanted to see how he was doing. I needed to know if he still had the powers that cost me so much."

Jubilee turned away again, fighting back tears. "Don't you **DARE** compare your disability to what he lost. I get that it was and is terrible for you to be stuck in a wheelchair. I get that it was life altering. But that doesn't even come close to what Jono lost when he manifested, and it's not even in the same **universe** as what we both lost on M-Day. You lost the use of your legs. With respect, so what? You still had your life, your money, your home, your family, your fucking title. Twice now Jono has lost his home, his family, every plan he'd had for the future, a part of himself, something he defined himself by - first his voice, then his mutation, and in case you missed the massive machinery, he damned near lost his life. There is **no** comparison. Maybe if you could understand that, you'd start to be worth the amount of pain and guilt he's felt because of you and the amount of love he still has for you." She brought Jono's hand to her lips again, silent tears streaming down her face.

Gayle sat, silenced by the force of Jubilee's outburst for a time. Jubilee could hear her gathering herself up for whatever response she would make in her obvious need to have the last word when a familiar, quiet voice cut across the tension in the room. "Miss Lee, has something happened to your brother? You know that you can call us at any time if there's a problem."

Jubilee summoned a shaky, watery smile for the doctor as he rushed to check the readouts to determine what crisis could have brought her to tears. "No Daniel, Jono's the same as always. You know I'd make sure someone was in here immediately if there was any change."

Daniel smiled and gave Jubilee's shoulder a squeeze as he gathered the supplies necessary to keep the machines running properly. "Excuse me ma'am," he said as he 'accidentally' knocked the wheelchair while accessing a cabinet Jubilee knew he could have reached without going near Gayle, "but I need room to manoeuvre, perhaps you would be so kind as to go get Miss Lee some supper from the cafeteria if you intend to visit further."

"I think not. I was just leaving," Gayle said imperiously, rolling her way out.

"Very well. And ma'am," Daniel glared from his preparations as Gayle reached the door, "I would appreciate it if you would avoid upsetting conversations with Miss Lee in the presence of my patients. Jono can still hear and still has brain activity, upsetting him is not conducive to his recovery."

Jubilee gave him a real smile as the door swung shut, then turned her attention back to her vigil.


End file.
